DOI article:
Miodońska, Barbara: Rex regum i rex Poloniae w dekoracji malarskiej Graduału Jana Olbrachta i Pontyfikału Erazma Ciołka: z zagadnień ikonografii władzy królewskiej w sztuce polskiej wieku XVI
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26594#0236
REX REGUM t REX POEONtAE
laid down in the Pontifical leads to two conclusions: 1) the knowledge of the details
of the ceremony revealed by the painter exceeds the information contained in the text,
so that it must have been supplemented by an eye-witness or information passed on
by those taking part in the ceremony; 2) the picture fulfils the function not only of
an illustration but also of a commentary interpreting the essential ideological content
of the ceremony. Hence it may be concluded that the collaborator in the conception
of the miniature was someone who fully understood this content, most probably Ciołek
himself.
„yłccipe coronawt Hegnt". The Coronation of the King
(Folio XXXVI) ills. 92-93, 136-144
The subject of the miniature on folio XXXVI of the Pontifical is the investiture of
the king with the most important insignium, which became the symbol of regal power —
the crown. The miniaturist confined himself to a realistic depiction of this action. The
only motif with a distinctly symbolical significance is the dog at the feet of the king.
The ruler kneeling before the altar, among the bishops, is surrounded by three sec-
^. ular dignitaries bearing the other insignia with which he had already been invested.
ZJC According to the instructions in the Polish ordines coronanJ:, the Castellan of Cracow,
the Voivodes of Cracow and Poznań, and the Sword-Bearer of Cracow carried the crown,
the orb, the sceptre and the sword in the procession which led the king-elect to the ca-
thedral for his coronation. These dignitaries then laid the insignia on the High Altar,
whence they were taken by the Archbishop in order to invest the king with them. Since
the miniaturist placed the insignia in the hands of the dignitaries, there is a good
view of them, and the spectators must have noticed them at once. The action thus
gained clarity. This time the crown is of the open form (corona, appcrta).
In the manner of conceiving the subject this miniature presents a distinct contrast
to the scene of the Enthronement, which illustrates not only the event but also a certain
ideological structure in its infinite "eternal" duration; hence the "objectivism" of the
formal means used. The scene of the Coronation is characterized by "subjectivism";
the action is developed in time, and is confined to part of the space of the Gothic pres-
bytery of the church, seen in oblique perspective. The small group of people gathered
round the altar are the actors. Both the setting and the figures form a free, apparently
accidental composition, and this impression is heightened by the manner of "fram-
ing" the scene; the frame of the picture intersects the objects, and even the figures.
Space has been revealed as an exponent of the actions of these figures. The extremely
refined coloristic composition, based on small gradations of colour, brings out above
all the spatial structure of the picture, while it has lost its heraldic symbolical mean-
ing. This miniature, as compared with the Polish painting of the time, bears the mark
of formal innovation.
The other miniatures on the coronation theme —the Blessing of the King (minia-
ture in the initial on folio XXVII, ill. 94) and the Coronation of the Queen (min-
iature in the column of the text on folio LII, ill. 95) do not introduce any new
formal treatments; in this respect they are linked with the two representations already
described, and the definition of their subject-matter presents no difficulty.
,,De oiHayio /acieudo". The Ceremony of Homage
(Folio LIIA) ills. 96, 145-156
The text of the ceremony of homage, an act essentially political and not liturgical,
does not fundamentally depart from the formula recorded in the Cracow Pontificals
laid down in the Pontifical leads to two conclusions: 1) the knowledge of the details
of the ceremony revealed by the painter exceeds the information contained in the text,
so that it must have been supplemented by an eye-witness or information passed on
by those taking part in the ceremony; 2) the picture fulfils the function not only of
an illustration but also of a commentary interpreting the essential ideological content
of the ceremony. Hence it may be concluded that the collaborator in the conception
of the miniature was someone who fully understood this content, most probably Ciołek
himself.
„yłccipe coronawt Hegnt". The Coronation of the King
(Folio XXXVI) ills. 92-93, 136-144
The subject of the miniature on folio XXXVI of the Pontifical is the investiture of
the king with the most important insignium, which became the symbol of regal power —
the crown. The miniaturist confined himself to a realistic depiction of this action. The
only motif with a distinctly symbolical significance is the dog at the feet of the king.
The ruler kneeling before the altar, among the bishops, is surrounded by three sec-
^. ular dignitaries bearing the other insignia with which he had already been invested.
ZJC According to the instructions in the Polish ordines coronanJ:, the Castellan of Cracow,
the Voivodes of Cracow and Poznań, and the Sword-Bearer of Cracow carried the crown,
the orb, the sceptre and the sword in the procession which led the king-elect to the ca-
thedral for his coronation. These dignitaries then laid the insignia on the High Altar,
whence they were taken by the Archbishop in order to invest the king with them. Since
the miniaturist placed the insignia in the hands of the dignitaries, there is a good
view of them, and the spectators must have noticed them at once. The action thus
gained clarity. This time the crown is of the open form (corona, appcrta).
In the manner of conceiving the subject this miniature presents a distinct contrast
to the scene of the Enthronement, which illustrates not only the event but also a certain
ideological structure in its infinite "eternal" duration; hence the "objectivism" of the
formal means used. The scene of the Coronation is characterized by "subjectivism";
the action is developed in time, and is confined to part of the space of the Gothic pres-
bytery of the church, seen in oblique perspective. The small group of people gathered
round the altar are the actors. Both the setting and the figures form a free, apparently
accidental composition, and this impression is heightened by the manner of "fram-
ing" the scene; the frame of the picture intersects the objects, and even the figures.
Space has been revealed as an exponent of the actions of these figures. The extremely
refined coloristic composition, based on small gradations of colour, brings out above
all the spatial structure of the picture, while it has lost its heraldic symbolical mean-
ing. This miniature, as compared with the Polish painting of the time, bears the mark
of formal innovation.
The other miniatures on the coronation theme —the Blessing of the King (minia-
ture in the initial on folio XXVII, ill. 94) and the Coronation of the Queen (min-
iature in the column of the text on folio LII, ill. 95) do not introduce any new
formal treatments; in this respect they are linked with the two representations already
described, and the definition of their subject-matter presents no difficulty.
,,De oiHayio /acieudo". The Ceremony of Homage
(Folio LIIA) ills. 96, 145-156
The text of the ceremony of homage, an act essentially political and not liturgical,
does not fundamentally depart from the formula recorded in the Cracow Pontificals